Gearing Up for NBA Free Agency

I get asked by regular folks (non-NBA industry casuals who think the season being done means I get to just vacation until October (or Christmas for the super casuals)) what I do during the offseason.

The answer is usually something along the lines of “work 24/7 for a straight month+,” which is hyperbole but not far from the truth. The lead-up to the NBA Draft (including my annual visit to Chicago for the combine), digesting the results (now over two days), processing trades, option decisions, reported agreements, etc.

Here’s something I knocked out after the draft for Bleacher Report, Top 30 NBA Free Agent Predictions After Kyrie, VanVleet and Naz Reid Signings. My take on Ty Jerome doesn’t hold up after the news that Lonzo Ball will be joining the Cleveland Cavaliers via trade from the Chicago Bulls (for Isaac Ikoro).

I also consult with various teams and agents, occasionally influencing outcomes (directly or indirectly). An example of the latter showed up on Substack in April:

The post added context to the Bleacher Report story, “A Jordan Poole Trade Idea for a Desperate Western Conference NBA Team,” which was agreed upon between the New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards (with a slightly different form, featuring Kelly Olynyk instead of Jordan Hawkins).

Was I petty enough to reply to some of the original, “You’re an idiot” tweets to the original article? You bet I was, primarily due to lack of sleep. That’s the best gauge of my exhaustion level. I’m much less petty on a good night’s sleep.

That sleep isn’t likely to come as I head to Las Vegas soon for July’s Sports Business Classroom, which has filled up for the summer (though the last applicants are still completing the process, so there’s still a reasonable chance a few get in off the waitlist—so apply now if interested!).

This is my favorite time of the year, so take none of the above as a complaint.

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Here are the last few scouting reports from the SBC Alumni Blog that crept in right before the draft.

• Oklahoma Guard Jeramiah Fears (via Gabriel Mendez)

• Florida Gators Guard Alijah Martin (via Max Rosenberg)

• Miami Wing Matthew Cleveland (via Brandon Heimsoth)

Fears (No. 7) went to the New Orleans Pelicans, Martin (No. 39) to the Toronto Raptors and Cleveland (undrafted) picked up with the Dallas Mavericks.

I may drop some deeper thoughts on the draft, trades, free agency, and extensions here on the Substack (perhaps on the paid side for some of the more in-depth topics). Still, my immediate priority is to get everything done that will help make SBC everything it can be.

More soon…